Acanthamoeba is an organism commonly found in soil and water that can cause serious eye infections and permanent loss of vision in contact lens wearers. Although rare- aprroximately 0.5 cases per 10,000 people- many of these cases are caused by “avoidable risks”.
A 2022 study published in the journal Ophthalmology found four modifiable risk factors associated with Acanthomeoba eye infections:
1) Showering in contacts
2) Sleeping in contacts
3) Reusing contact lenses
4) Less frequent visits to your eye doctor
So, what about daily disposable contacts? They would eliminate bullet point #3, and indeed they do by a whopping amount. But they are still not risk-free. The above illustrates that it is “better to be safe than sorry”.
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